We're a little late, but Real Life got in the way, so here we finally are. Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced today that Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition has been released. This version focusses on improvements in cloud computing on the server using Eucalyptus, further improvements in boot speed, as well as development on Netbook Remix. The related KDE, Xfce, and other variants have been released as well. Update by ELQ: Just a quick note to say that one of my Creative Commons videos was selected to be part of Ubuntu's Free Culture Showcase package that comes by default with the new Ubuntu version!

Supposedly Windows 7 (which is not too bad, for Windows) gives you so much more than Vista compared the change from Ubuntu 9.10 to 9.04? That sounds more one-eyed that an Aegean Cyclops. Although I'm yet to try it (about to) I think a stable Upstart will make a difference to Linux desktop users.

I'm not sure where the arrogance lies: in the supposedly haughty Linux developers that give up their free time to build stuff (and maybe don't get everything right), or someone who supposes they know what all users want. Do you think that Win7 best meets the needs of high-performance scientific users, internet-scale application developers, or cash-strapped students? really? Looking at the changelist I think that different users have different requirements and this version of Ubuntu has enough changes to represent value-for-money (can you say the same for your $500 version of Windows?).

Why not come up with some balanced criticism instead, we're prepared to listen to that.

And how does Ubuntu meet the needs of scientific users and the like when it kernel panics when you use the wifi key toggle on an eee901?

Well done, you are lucky to get Windows and OS X for that price. Yes, the cost is mostly hidden in a hardware purchases, but for people who already have recent computers (a large proportion of the population these days) it is not possible to always get these deals. No matter what the cost, it is still more expensive especially if you get the Ultimate version (you can always get the equivalent 'ultimate' Linux version as there are usually no artificial limits placed on the software and services you can run).

It is interesting you mention eee901 and science. I'm about to purchase one to put my custom astronomical acquisition software (which integrates a custom hardware GPS clock and $60k NZ CCD camera) onto an eee so it is portable and can be flown around the world to be mounted on telescopes. I decided to use Ubuntu for it since it is great for this sort of stuff, and is very easy to administer. From what I've tried Win 7 works well enough for desktop but kind of a PITA for custom device control since that is not its orientation.

Just tried the latest Ubuntu. It's looking better and the Upstart cut by boot time by from 20 seconds to 7. I didn't expect that big a gain.

Anyway, to go back to my original point. Perhaps you don't know the needs of users as well as you think, and maybe the Linux developers, you seem to think are out-of-touch, do?